It is census day here in New Zealand, when we share all our personal information with our overlords so they can make lots of pretty graphs. Personally I’m particularly annoyed that I’ve only just now realised that one of the questions asks “On Tuesday 5 March, what was […]
One of my largest collections of vintage postcards focuses on those sent by soldiers during the First World War. When I started collecting as a teenager I used to pick them up at stamp fairs, from dealers, auctions, antique shops and secondhand book stores – but I had […]
I’ve been blogging for about ten months now and one of the fantastic parts of the experience has been the exchange of ideas and stories with fellow bloggers. It is inspiring to see so many passionate people sharing our past in different ways and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed becoming […]
It is far too long since my vintage shipping menu collection had some love, so today I thought I’d share a maritime story that includes calf brains, dragons and a famous blockbuster movie. In the late 1920’s two new Dutch owned passenger liners arrived in Australia. The T.S.S. […]
Two years ago a powerful earthquake struck Christchurch resulting in the tragic loss of 185 lives, countless homes, businesses and untold amounts of irreplaceable heritage. Much of what so many people take for granted every day was lost in just seconds. As a born and bred Cantabrian it […]
As mentioned in my previous post, I was recently fortunate enough to spend some time in the Bay of Islands. It is a long way to travel from Dunedin, but I happened to be in Warkworth to attend Kiwi Foo Camp and while in the area decided to take […]
I’m publishing this post from Russell, formerly the infamous Kororareka, or hellhole of the Pacific. Once upon a time this beach was home to drunkards, whalers, crimps, sailors, prostitutes, grog shop owners and other rogues both lovable and not. It was witness to duels, brawls and even wars. […]
Today marks 150 years since the flagship of the Royal Navy’s Australian squadron sank off the entrance to the Manukau harbour. It was a beautiful sunny day but there was a hidden danger lurking beneath the waves. At about 1:30pm the Orpheus hit a submerged sand bar. Of […]
This is the true story behind what I suspect might be the earliest known photograph of a waterspout or tornado in New Zealand. As I’ve stated many times before, every photo, postcard or piece of paper has a story to tell, however this one really will blow you […]
Today I’m going to share one of the oldest postcards in my collection, one which also happens to include a message relating to New Zealanders fighting in the Boer War. It is one of a small group that I found in a junk shop as a teenager and […]
